And we’re off to the races

There are undoubtedly Puritans who are rolling over in their graves today, but times change and the state has to change with them.

And so it was that Deval Patrick signed the state’s new gambling legislation yesterday with a tone that bordered on indifference. After the cameras were turned off and the crowds had left, the governor leaned casually against the doorway to his office looking like a guy who had just sold an heirloom that never mattered much to pay some bills that mattered a lot. “I’m not taking this lightly,’’ he said. “You can’t do this without defining who we are.’’